Chapter Thirty-Nine
I woke the next night, my mind a complete blank. I'd slipped into unconsciousness so slowly that I couldn't exactly pinpoint my last waking memory. Enjoying the luxury of Nik's bed, I blinked a few times before sitting up and looking around me. In a swift motion, I jerked the blankets back up to my chin, though I was perfectly decent in a long, black T-shirt and pajama pants. But it's hard to feel decent when a fae is watching you sleep.
Periphetes smiled, his visible breath cooling the room. He shifted his stance, slowly crossing his arms over his narrow chest. His frosty eyes slid over me and assessed the room.
“So, you stay in his room.” He glanced at the couch, covered in Nik's blanket and pillow. “But don't share his bed. Has anyone ever told you, you are a strange girl?”
“All the time. Has anyone ever told you it's not polite to sneak in and watch someone sleep?”
The fae smiled. “You do not have a room of your own.” It was a statement, and yet a question at the same time.
“No, I'm pretty new to the seethe. Actually, I don't think I'm technically part of the seethe yet.”
“You know, you don't have to join the seethe or any seethe for that matter.”
“Really?” I asked, my interest piqued. Thus far, seethe life had not been exactly roses and pearls.
“Filling her head with lies?” Nik asked from the doorway. I had completely missed his entrance. I pulled the blanket a little closer to my chin.
“They're not lies, Nikolai Krasniy. And you know perfectly well I cannot lie.”
“Technically, but you lead false trails.” Nik turned to me. “He forgets to mention the death rate of vampires who live outside the protection of a seethe.”
I didn't respond. It was something to think about, but not something to discuss with Nik or Periphetes. I watched the two men as they stared each other down. Finally, Nik stepped aside and motioned toward the door. He made it look more like boredom than a concession.
“Unless you have further business with us,” hinted Nik.
Periphetes smiled, bowed to me, and slipped out of the room, his limp so slight I wondered if I had imagined it the previous morning.
“What did you two talk about?” Nik demanded.
“Nothing really. I'd just woken up when you came in. What was he doing here?”
Nik sighed and stared at the closed door. “Probably just wanting to rattle the cage. He’s a trouble maker. Though it’s clear he wanted to talk to you alone about something.”
I suddenly felt the weight of Nik's presence all the more. No doubt, he would not be letting me out of his sight for a while. I tried to think back to my last day of freedom. It had been nearly a week since I was turned. When I wrote about vampires, their lives consisted of free will, parties, and love affairs. So far, my existence as a vampire included death, faeries, and schedules.
“So what's the plan?” I asked, once again trying to remember what all had happened last night.
“Let's start with you getting dressed. Meet me in the hall. We're going to do a little grave robbing.”
Nik left the room, silently closing the door behind him. Before I could even reach the edge of his enormous bed, the door swung back open to reveal Josh, dressed in khaki shorts and a “Halo” T-shirt. Though born in the early fifties, Josh did a good job of fitting in with modern society. Nik, not so much.
“Nik is right, you know,” he said after closing the door
“Oh, my gosh, you guys are the worst eavesdroppers.”
“Or are we the best?” he asked with an impish smile. I tried to ignore him, in no mood to play games.
“So was there a point to your spying on me?”
Josh sighed and stepped further into the room. “I know you don't get along with Nik, but in this instance, he is absolutely right. To live outside the protection of a seethe is paramount to death. Only the very old manage it.”
“How old? Like Mikhail and Nik?”
“Older. A lot older. All I'm saying is don't do anything rash. Life in the seethe is not normally like this. In fact, in my half century, I've never seen this much action. It's kinda fun!”
I was so annoyed with his final statement that I threw a pillow at him. He ducked out of the way, leaving it to fly into one of the glass vases sitting on the dresser, which conveniently shattered. We froze in our spots, waiting for Nik's wrath. Sure enough, he burst through the door a moment later, his eyes picking out the broken vase.
A tiny giggle escaped my lips. I felt like a child, preparing for a spanking. I wasn't exactly wrong. Nik turned on me, his eyes bright with anger, while I stifled the next sputter of laughter and tried to look sorry. He turned his burning gaze on Josh.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to her.”
Nik looked back at me. “And in the process, you found it necessary to break my things?”
“If I had a room of my own, this wouldn't have happened,” I pointed out. Big mistake.
“Not until you prove you won't run away,” he said between clenched teeth. Josh slipped out quietly while I distracted Nik. I couldn't blame him; I would have done the same thing had I had the chance.
“What am I, your prisoner?”
“A little bit. Yeah!” Nik paused. He swallowed, waiting for my wrath. I was too shocked to respond. “Finish getting dressed and meet us in the hall. We've wasted enough time.”
He stalked out of the room and banged the door shut. I stared at the shivering door, too surprised to move. I was his prisoner? He did keep me close and he had been angry when I had escaped. But as I thought about it, I realized it had more to do with my safety than any possessiveness on his side. Nik wanted to keep me safe. His harsh words had been a matter of an angry moment, nothing more. Besides, I was the one who had smashed his vase. Maybe I deserved some of his wrath. Emphasis on the “some.”
I heaved a sigh, trying to relinquish the last feelings of frustration, before moving to my duffel bag. I tugged on a pair of jeans and one of my work-out sweatshirts. If we were grave digging, I didn't want to wear anything too ostentatious.
Sure enough, Josh, Nik, and Periphetes were waiting in the hallway. “Miss Ashley,” said the fae as he bowed slightly and smiled at me. I smiled back. It was impossible to be annoyed at his strange version of chivalry. His manners made me feel special and his smile was infectious.
“So, I hear we're grave robbing tonight?” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Periphetes laughed good-naturedly, his light blue eyes softening even further while his frozen breath made him look like an albino superman. It was a strange trait of the winter fae. I couldn't help but wonder if summer fae always had a sunburn. Periphetes took my hand, looped it around his cold arm, and led me toward the side exit. Nik and Josh followed.
When they reached the door, Nik silently took the lead, heading straight for the driver’s seat while Periphetes kindly escorted me to the front seat, where he opened the door and handed me in. I felt like I belonged in a Jane Austen book, and I gotta admit I liked it. All girls like to be treated like a fancy lady once in a while. Josh and Periphetes climbed into the back seat just as Nik began to rev the engine.
He drove us into Tumwater, to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. Odd Fellows was a historical fraternity that did good things for hurting people, like widows and orphans. The cemetery itself had been built in the late 1800s—one of the oldest landmarks in the greater Olympia area. I was sure we would find some really old dead people here. Nik parked on the side of the street and got out, still not looking at me. Before I could finish unbuckling, Periphetes was opening my door. He took my hand and helped me out of the car. I didn't have the nerve to tell him his hand actually made it harder to get out. What notions men have!
In the meantime, Josh pulled the two shovels out of the trunk. I glanced around, hoping no one would notice us and the shovels. I figured it would be an odd sight, no pun intended. We headed into the cemetery, the tombstone
s black against the moonlit sky. This would have been creepy before I knew things like faeries, wizards, and vampires actually existed. Now it was the thing of my worst nightmares. I walked close to Periphetes, occasionally bumping into him which brought the corners of his thin lips up into a smile. After a short search, Nik stopped at a tall stone with the name Virginia Chambers written on it.
I peeked over my shoulder, feeling as if someone were watching us. To my astonishment, I spotted a woman standing just a few feet away, her long skirt flowing to the ground and the sleeves of her blouse puffed up. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and covered with a stiff straw hat lined with very fake flowers. The high neck of her blouse was trimmed with nothing but a delicate brooch.
I thought it strange to see a woman in a costume wandering through a graveyard in the middle of the night. I blinked furiously when her image thinned and blurred, thinking my eyes were freaking out. Her image continued to waver like a mirage. She smiled daintily at me, picked up her skirts, and turned to walk away.
“Um… guys?” When they looked at me, I pointed at the departing figure.
“What?” asked Josh. “Did you really expect to go to a graveyard and not see a ghost?”
“A ghost? We can see ghosts?”
“Well yeah. You're dead. Of course, you can see ghosts.”
“Riiight.” I glanced up at Periphetes. He was still staring in the direction I'd pointed.
When he noticed my attention he smiled and said, “No, I don't see a ghost. Fae only see certain ghosts and only occasionally. Was it scary?”
I shook my head. “Just a woman who looked like she came out of an ‘Anne of Green Gables’ novel.” Josh looked at me in confusion. Nik's expression suggested he'd already read the Anne series. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. “Never mind. So is this the grave we're diggin' up?” I glanced at the plot, thinking the grass looked a little off compared to the walkway.
“Yes,” said Nik in a dark voice. He took one of the shovels from Josh and began digging. Josh joined him, leaving the fae and me to watch.
I will say this: Vampires dig quickly. After less than an hour of watching, which brought me to rest against a neighboring tombstone and caused Periphetes to start pacing, Nik and Josh reached the coffin. They brushed away the dirt to reveal an elegant wooden box that showed signs of once being painted white. Near the top, the wood was cut out and lined with glass to create a porthole. It would have been cool except for the very real skeleton face looking up at me. I shuddered and took a half step toward Periphetes. He draped a long, cold arm over my shoulder and pulled me closer. I could almost feel him smiling. Nik glared up at us, making me feel suddenly awkward. He returned to his work quickly, though, and I tried to ignore the feeling which bordered on regret.
Not like I owed him anything, I told myself sternly.
“Ouch,” snapped Josh, yanking his hand away from the coffin. My new, excellent night vision made it possible for me to see the enormous splinter sticking out of his palm. He yanked it out and gave the coffin a respectable glare.
Nik ignored Josh's bleeding hand and jerked the coffin open. All three men heaved a sigh of disappointment.
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